Box



Dec. 15, 1936. r s BATDQRF 2,064,241

BOX

Filed March 29, 1935 Patented Dec. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES BOX SeymourBatdorf, Lancaster, Pa., assignor to Liberty Can and Sign Company, acorporation of Pennsylvania Application March 29, 1935, Serial No.13,751

10 Claims. (o1. 220-41) This invention relates to metal boxes of thesliding cover type such as are now in extensive use for medicinaltablets, lozengers and the like as well as other small articles andpellets for a great variety of other purposes in quite different fields.In such boxes it is now usual to provide stop means for limiting theendwise sliding movement of the cover in one or both directions to limitthe sliding movement of the cover, as well as some yielding stop meansfor holding the cover in closed position against accidental or over thecooperating part on the body and permit the top to slide nearly orentirely oif of the body with frequent resultant loss ofa large portionof the contents of the body.

The primary objects of the present invention are to provide abrupt sharpfaces on both the top and body at abrupt angles to the path of movementof the top that will prevent any such riding up by one stop face overthe other; to

provide a special two diameter curl at the top of the body forming bythe abrupt sharp ends of the larger diameter two sharp abrupt stopshoulders to cooperate with an abrupt shoulder or sharp edge face formedin the side flange of the cover; to simplify the construction and reducethe amount of material required for the cover; to provide rounded edgefaces which will not scratch or mar the lithographed or other specialfinish of the boxes as the same issue from the forming machines and dropinto the receiving baskets or receptacles, said sharp stops being soformed, positioned and disposed as not to come into contact withadjacent box p :ts; and to provide in association with such a box anauxiliary top, which may be of thick or stifi paper or paste-board. soformed as to prevent the removal of more than one or a small number ofthe contained articles at a given time so as to prevent theunintentional spilling of the box contents, said auxiliary top or coverbeing supported by, and on top of, the contents and provided with meansdepending toward the bottom of. and engaging the end wall of, the bodyto prevent the endwise displacement of the auxiliary top or cover whenthe box cover is moved'endwise to closed position and engaging the saidcontents to prevent its displacement in the reverse direction when thesliding cover is moved in the reverse direction to open position.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 represents a top plan view of my invention, according to oneembodiment, closed;

Figure 2, a similar view, with the top open;

Figure 3, a side elevation, with the top open;

Figure 4, a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, looking in thedirection of the arrows, the top being closed;

Figure 5, a view similar to Fig. 4, the top being open;

Figure 6, a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7, a central longitudinal sectional view through the box asmounted in a snugly receiving opening of a dispensing display card inaccordance with common known practice;

Figure 8, a side elevation of the body blank in an intermediate stageand just prior to the last' operation to form the two-diameter edgecurl;

Figure9, a side elevation of the body in final condition, thetwo-diameter edge curl having been formed; and

Figure 10, a very fragmentary view, similar to the correspondingportions of Figures 4 and 5, of a slight modification.

In all of the views the thickness of the sheet 0 metal employed has beengreatly exaggerated,

and in general the parts have been enlarged and made somewhat out ofproportion in order to clearly show the invention on a suflicientlylarge scale and without requiring a multiplicity of sheets of drawings.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, A designates the body of thebox; B, the sliding top; C the usual dispensing display card; D theusual lugs or ribs struck or pressed out laterally from the sides of thebody to coperate with the body edge curl or the side flanges of the topB to hold the box in the usual receiving openings in the display card C;E the usual snap catch lug or latch stamped down or inward in the top Bto engage and ride up over the end edge curl as the top B is shovedtoward closed position and, as soon as the top B reaches closedposition, snapping down by the resiliency of the top B and fittinginside of, and engaging the adjacent end face of the body A to hold thetop B closed ,against accidental or unintentional displace ment; and Gdesignates tablets, lozengers, pellets or the like which may becontained in the box.

The body A has its edge portion rolled or curled with a two diametercurl, the larger diameter I being separated by the smaller diameter 3 oneach side of the body, the length of the smaller diameter curl portions3 corresponding substantially to the length of movement of the top B,and the larger diameter portions l respectively extending about the endportions of the body A and having sharp abrupt end shoulders formed bythe edge of the metal as rolled or curled into such larger diameterportions I. This two-diameter edge curl may be formed in any suitablemanner. One method is illustrated by Figure 8, wherein the bodyblank Ais formed with relatively long outwardly curved or flared end and sideedge portions I to form the larger diameter edge curl portions l andintervening intermediate shorter side portions 3 to form the smallerdiameter curl portions 3, someof the metal being cut out for the lengthof each said portion 3, leaving a shorter length of metal to be formedinto the small diameter curl portions 3.

The sliding top or cover will preferably be slightly arched in form withan outwardly and downwardly inclined marginal panel 5 extending-completely around it and will preferably be springy or resilient as awhole preferably crosswise and preferably lengthwise andv at its sideportions is formed with downwardly and inwardly curved side flanges 2 toflt about and below, and slidably receive, said two-diameter curl I, 3of the body A. Said flanges 2 have their respective lower inner portionsformed with .abrupt indentations to form sharp abrupt substantiallyright angle shoulders 4 to engage the cooperating opposed face of theshoulder or shoulders la formed by the sharp edge of the larger diameterportions l of the two-diameter edge curl, or the metal of the flanges 2may be completely out or broken through and the adjacent metal pressedin to present sharp cutting metal edge shoulders 4 in opposition to thecooperating faces la. of the larger-diameter portions l. Such shoulders4 will be so disposed lengthwise of the flanges 2 that in the closedposition of the top B they will lie between the shoulders I a andclosely adjacent to said shoulders of one large diameter curl portion land,

in the open position of the cover B, will positively engage with theshoulders la of the other large portion, any pressure exerted on the topor cover B in an attempt to force it open beyond this point simplyserving toforce the opposed faces of shoulders 4 and the cooperatingshoulders la into tighter biting or cutting engagement effectuallypreventing any riding of one set of stop shoulders beyond the other andcooperating set of shoulders.

The top B may be formed with a hook type or form end stop F adjacent thelittle lug or catch E to engage the end of the body A or the adjacentportion of the edge curl. to prevent sliding movement of the top in thereverse direction beyond closed position.

In practice, after the body A and top B have been formed as above, oneside flange 2 of the top B will be applied to or hooked under the largediameter curl portions I on one side of the body A with the shoulder 4of said flange 2 disposed between the shoulders la of said largediameter curl portions I, the other sideflange 2 of the top B will bebrought to rest on the top of the curl portions on the other side of thebody A, and then pressure will be applied gently, as

by hand, to cause the latter flange 2' to snap about and under said curlportions, and the assembly of the box will be complete. At least, theforegoing is the preferred mode of assembly,

' but with the construction shown in the preferred form, the cover ortop B may be applied by sliding lengthwise over the body A, the largerdiameter portions I of the edge curl being slidably received in theflanges 2 of the cover or top B and the shoulders 4 and adjacentportions of said flanges 2 springing to accommodate the larger diameterportion of one end of the body A and snapping inward into operativeposition by the resiliency of said top B as a whole as soon as they havepassed beyond the adjacent shoulders I a.

Preferably the top B will be so formed and of such size that when closedthe inclined marginal portion 5 will be yieldingly resiliently pressedagainst the opposed upper edge face or portion of the edge curl at allpoints.

Preferably an auxiliary top or cover 6, which may be formed of stiff orthick paper or cardboard or any other suitable material and of a sizeand shape corresponding to the interior size and shape of the body A islaid on the top of the contained contents or articles and has adepending end fiange fitting down between the end articles or end of thecontents and the end of the box, such end flange being shown at l andengaging either the end of the body to prevent endwise movement of theauxiliary top or cover in one direction, or the adjacent articles or endof the contents to prevent endwise movement of said auxiliary top orcover 6 in the reverse direction. One portion, for instance, a corner,may be cut away as at 8 to permit the contained articles to be removedsuccessively from the box, while preventing loss by the spilling of thecontents of the box when opened possibly in a hurry or in an awkwardposition.

In the modification illustrated in Figure 10, the construction andoperation are the same as in the preferred form except that in place ofthe single shoulder 4 for each top side flange 2, said flangesarecompletely out through, a short portion being out out and theadjacent opposed end edges of said out out are bent or pressed inward soas to form a pair of opposed sharp cutting edge shoulders 4' to eachflange 2, one being adapted to engage one shoulder la when the top B ismoved endwise .in one direction, and the other engaging the othershoulder la when said top is moved in the reverse direction. With thismodified construction the stop F may be dispensed with.

Of course it is to be understood that the small diameter portion 3 mightalso be curled inwardly of the body, instead of outwardly as shown, orinstead of being curled it might be pressed flat either inwardly oroutwardly of the body against the adjacent portion of the face of itsside of the body, although all suchpossible modifications would probablyinvolve more expensive manufacturing operations and would result in aless desirable product. 4

Further, it is to be understood that the reduced or small curl portions3 might be entirely omitted, in such case there being no edge curlbetween the large diameter curl ends or stop shoulders la although thiswould not be very desirable, even if the edge at this point were cut outto such degree as to stop below the top of the curl portions I, sayabout level to the central line of said portions I, as this would leavea relatively tions, said end faces being the exposed edges of Y thecurls of the large diameter portions and constituting abrupt sharp bodystop shoulders having raw edges extending laterally in a planesubstantially at right angles to the adjacent por- 'tions of the facesof the respective small diameter curl portions, in combination with asliding cover arched both lengthwise and crosswise and formed ofresilient material, side flanges integral with said cover and curveddownwardly and inwardly to snugly slidingly enga e about and under therespective outer faces of said top edge curl, and sharp abrupt coverstop shoulders respectively extending inwardly and upwardly from thelower portions of the respective flanges and so located lengthwisethereof as to be disposed between the body stop shoulders on therespective sides of said body and to be respectively presented inopposition to the respective cooperating body stop shoulders when saidcover is applied to said body, said top .by its arched formation andspringy resilient nature pressing with its margin against the top ofsaid edge curl ,and pulling the lower portions of said flanges againstthe opposed face portions of said edge curl.

2. A slide cover type box comprising a body formed with a two-diametertop edge curl, said curl having two large diameter portions respectivelyextending across the respective ends and partially lengthwise of thesides and two small diameter portions on the sides interposed betweenthe opposed end faces of said large diameter portions, said opposed endfaces constituting body stop shoulders, in combination with a resilientsliding cover, side flanges on said cover curved downwardly and inwardlyto snugly slidingly engage about and under the respective outer faces ofsaid edge curl, and sharp abrupt cover stop shoulders respectivelyextending inwardly from the respective flanges and so located lengthwisethereof as to be disposed between the body stop shoulders on therespective sides of said body and to be respectively presented inopposition to the respective cooperating body stop shoulders when saidcover is applied to said body, said top by its resilient nature pressingwith its margin against the top of said edge curl and pulling the lowerportions of said flanges against the opposed face portions of said edgecurl.

3. A slide cover type box comprising a body formed with a two-diametertop edge curl, said curl having two large diameter portions respectivelyextending across the respective ends and partially lengthwise of thesides and two small diameter portions on the sides interposed betweenthe opposed end faces of said large diameter portions, said opposed endfaces constituting body stop shoulders, in combination with a slidingcover, side flanges on said cover curved downwardly and inwardly toslidingly engage about and under the respective outer faces of said edgecurl, and sharp abrupt cov'er stop shoulders respectively extendinginwardly from the respective flanges and so located lengthwise thereofas to be disposed between the body stop shoulders on the respectivesides of said body and to be respectively presented in opposition to therespective cooperating body stop shoulders when said cover is applied tosaid body.

4. A slide cover type box comprising a body formed with a two-diametertop edge curl, said curl having a small diameter portion extending inthe direction of movement of said cover and interposed between theopposed end faces of two large diameter curl portions, in combinationwith a sliding cover, side flanges on said cover, and a'sharp abruptcover stop shoulder extending inwardly from one of said flanges and solocated lengthwise thereof as to be disposed between said large diametercurl portion ends and to be presented in opposition to the cooperatinglarge diameter curl portion end and to engage the same when the saidcover ismoved in a given direction.

5. A slide cover type box comprising a body formed with a top edge curl,said curl having a large diameter portion and a small diameter portionadjacent thereto and extending in the same direction, the large diameterportion terminating abruptly with a raw sheet metal curled end adjacentthe small diameter portion, in combination with a sliding cover, sideflanges on said cover; and an abrupt shoulder extending inwardly fromone of said flanges and so 10- cated lengthwise thereof as to abut saidend of said large curl portion with a non-sliding engagement when saidcover is moved in a given direction.

6. A slide cover type substantially rectangular form sheet metal boxcomprising a body formed with a top edge curl having endportions spacedfrom each other in the direction of movement of said cover, said endshaving raw curled edges extending laterally respectively in planes atsharp angles to the adjacent longitudinal faces of said curl portions,in combination with a sliding cover, side flanges on said cover fittingabout and under said top edge curl and slidably receiving the same, andan abrupt cover stop extending inwardly from one of said cover flangesto abut one of said curl ends with a nonsliding engagement when saidcover is moved in a given direction.

7. A slide cover type substantially rectangular form sheet metal boxcomprising a body formed with a topedge curl having ends spaced fromeach other in the direction of movement of said cover, the faces of saidends extending laterally at a sharp angle to the adjacent sides of thebody, in combination with a sliding cover, side flanges on said coverslidably fitting about and under said edge curl, and an abrupt coverstop extending inwardly from one of said flanges to abut one of saidcurl ends with a non-slipping engagement when said cover is moved in onedirection.

8. A slide cover type substantially rectangular form sheet metal boxcomprising a body formed with a top edge curl having end portions spacedfrom each other in the direction of movement of said cover, said endshaving raw edges extending laterally in planes at sharp angles to therespective adjacent longitudinal faceportions of said curl portions, incombination with a resilient sheet metal sliding cover, side flangesintegral with said cover and snugly fitting about and under and slidablyreceiving said edge curl, and a pair of oppositely presented cover stopspressed inwardly from one of said flanges and respectively having rawthin sheet metal edge faces presented in opposition to said curl endsrespectively, said stops respectively engaging the said respective curlends, according to the direction of movement of said cover, with acutting non-slipping engagement.

9. A slide cover type substantially rectangular form sheet metal boxcomprising a body formed with a top edge curl having ends spaced fromeach other in the direction of; movement of the cover, said ends havingsheet metal edge faces extending laterally in planes at sharp angles tothe respective adjacent longitudinal faces of said curl, in combinationwith a resilient sheet metal cover, side flanges integral with saidcover and snugly fitting about and under and slidably,

receiving said edge curl, and a stop having other in the direction ofmovement of the cover and constituting body stop shoulders, in com--bination with a sliding cover, flanges on said cover slidingly receivingand engaging corresponding portions of said bead, and an abrupt shoulderextending from said cover and so 10- cated-with respect thereto as to beinterposed between said body stop shoulders and to engage one of saidshoulders when said cover is moved in a given direction.

. SEYMOUR BA'I'DORF.

